TAMPA, Fla. -- In the McDonnell family, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Or the convention stage.
Jeanine McDonnell addressed the Republican National Convention Wednesday evening, just 24 hours after her father, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, gave his own headliner speech in Tampa.
The younger McDonnell, a veteran of the Iraq war, introduced Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz,, along with Chris Devlin-Young, a Paralympian wounded in a plane crash while serving in the Coast Guard.
In her brief remarks, McDonnell assailed looming Pentagon cuts under President Obama, a criticism frequently leveled by her father, who also served in the military.
"We need leaders who don't play chicken with our nation's defense," Jeanine McDonnell said. "We need leaders who will invest in defense -- not abandon it. And that's why we need Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan."
It was the last speech by a Virginian at the convention, though they've had a prominent role the first two nights. In addition to the governor's primetime address, he also presented the party platform to the convention. Del. Barbara Comstock of McLean spoke Tuesday and seconded the motion to nominate Romney for president.